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Court stops Nairobi hospital AGM as Omtatah claims Ksh9B financial mismanagement
05th February, 2026 06:55 PM
A Nairobi High Court has temporarily stopped the Nairobi Hospital and its Board of Management from proceeding with the facility’s annual general meeting, scheduled for Friday, February 6, 2026.
The orders came after Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, along with activists Bernard Muchiri Muchere and Naomi Nyakerario Misati, filed a notice of motion seeking conservatory orders over a claim of Ksh9.1 billion financial mismanagement and a deepening leadership crisis.
Issuing the order, Justice Lawrence Mugambi on Thursday, February 5, 2026, also barred any employees or their proxies from conducting or facilitating the AGM pending the hearing and determination of the case.
“A conservatory order is hereby issued to the 1st and 2nd Respondents (The Nairobi Hospital and its board), whether by themselves, their agents, servants, employees, proxies, or any person acting under their authority, from convening, holding, conducting, facilitating, or in any manner whatsoever proceeding with the Annual General Meeting of the Kenya Hospital Association scheduled for February 6, 2026, or any adjournment or continuation thereof,” Justice Mugambi ruled.
Further, the court has directed the hospital, its board members and top leaders, the Attorney General, the Inspector General of Police, the EACC, the DCI, and other respondents listed in the suit to file responses to the case within seven days.
According to the petition filed on February 3, 2026, the petitioners argue that despite its public character and duty, the institution is now crippled by internal conflicts within its board.
The petitioners state that the issues raised have led to financial collapse, resulting in losses exceeding Ksh 3 billion and supplier arrears of over Ksh 4 billion, thus threatening operational solvency.
Notably, they aver that board committees have been sidelined, procurement rules flouted, and related-party transactions enriching insiders, leading to governance paralysis.
In addition, the petitioners say that relevant state agencies have failed to act decisively to protect this public asset, despite credible evidence and judicial findings highlighting grave misconduct.
Omtatah and the two activists also argue that the Nairobi Hospital stands on land granted by the government strictly for a public purpose: the provision of healthcare.
They state that official search results for the land confirm the nature of the title and the subsisting conditions attaching to it, thereby placing the land squarely within the ambit of Article 62 of the Constitution and the Public Trust Doctrine.
“That by virtue of occupying public trust land and performing essential public-interest healthcare functions, the governance of The Nairobi Hospital is not a purely private affair, but one of constitutional accountability,” part of the application read.
The matter will be mentioned on February 23, 2026, for further directions.
